This beautiful rock cut temple is among the 108 divyadesams of Sri Vaishnavas and comes under Pandiya naatu divyadesams. The temple is inside a huge fort and adjoining is the Sathyagiriswarar temple of Lord Shiva. The presiding deity is Sathyagiri nathan/Sathyamoorthy perumal with prayoga chakra and shanku in his hands and is swayambu moorthy. Adjoining it is the sannadhi for Meyyappar perumal who is lying on Adiseshan and gives darshan in sayana kolam. Meyyappar perumal is similar to Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam but is really huge in comparison. Also in the sannadhi are chitragupta, dharmaraj, brahma, several devas, rishis and asuras. Bhoomi devi thayar appears close to his feet. There is a seperate sannadhi for Ujjeevana thayar.

How to reach

Thirumayam is around 20 kms from Tirupattur and 15 kms from Pudukottai. The temple is about a km from the main Tirupattur - Pudukottai state highway. One can get down at Thirumayam bus stand and either walk down from there or take an auto. The nearest station is Thirumayam on the Karaikudi-Pudukottai route. Nearest airport is Madurai around 90 kms away.

One can stay at Pudukottai or Karaikudi as there arent any good lodging facilities here.

Sannadhis

Sathyamoorthy perumal

Meyyappar perumal

Ujjeevana thayar

Chakratazhwar

Lakshmi Narasimhar

Ramar, Sita, Lakshmana

Andal

Krishna

Anjaneya

Garuda

Vishwaksenar

Alwars Acharyas

Lot of nagars

Specialty of the temple

Adiseshan is said to have let off poisonous gas against the asuras and hence appears here in the same form.

Just next to the temple is that of Sathyagirishwarar- Lord Shiva and the girivalam is possible only if the two temples are combined.

There are lot of stone sculptures in the temples as in Mahabalipuram.

The idol of Thirumeyyar is probably the largest one in sleeping posture in India

Temple timings

The temple is open from 8 am to 12.30 noon and from 4.30 pm to 8 pm in the evenings.

Thiruneermalai is among the 108 divyadesams of Sri Vaishnavas and come under Tondai naatu divyadesams. There are two temples here- one at the foothills and one at the top of the small hill. The presiding deity of the hill temple is Sri Ranganathar and at the foothills is Sri Neeravanna perumal. Sri Ranganatha is lying on adiseshan with Sridevi Bhoodevi thayar near his feet. The Lord appears as Ramar, Lakshmi at Sitadevi and Adisesha as Lakshmanan for Sage Valmiki at the temple in the foothills.

The hill temple

When Thirumangai azhwar came to have darshan here, the mountain was covered with water and due to rains and floods, he had to wait for almost 6 months to see the Lord. The place where he stayed is called Thirumangai Alwarpuram.

The temple at the base

How to reach

A 5 km diversion to the right on the GST from Chennai leads to the temple. Just after Pallavaram bus stand, take the right below the flyover to Thiruneermalai road. The temple would be visible right after crossing the bypass. The temple is also accessible from Chrompet.

Bus number 55 A from Pallavaram goes to the temple foothills.

Sannadhis

Hill temple -

Ranganatha perumal

Ranganayaki thayar

Thiruvikrama perumal

Shantha moorthy Narasimhar

Temple at foothills -

Neeravanna perumal

Alwars and acharyas

Anjaneya

Ramar

Anima malar mangai Thayar

Andal

Specialty of the temple

The Lord gives darshan in sleeping posture, sitting posture and walking posture in the hill temple and in standing posture in the temple at the foothills. So, one gets to see the Lord is all postures in the same divyadesam.

According to Thirumangai alwar, a visit to the temple is said to be equivalent to visiting four divyadesams - Thirunaraiyoor, Thiruvaali, Thirukudanthai and Thirukoviloor.

The temple is compared to Tirupathi and Srirangam by Bhootatazhwar in his paasuram.

The divyadesam is among the oldest hill temples and the only divyadesam where Lord Narasimha appears as Shantha moorthy.

The temple is a prarthana sthalam for all problems and among the eight mukhti sthalams.

Temple timings

The temple is open from 8 am to 12 noon in the mornings and from 4 pm to 8 pm in the evenings.

Sri Uraga Mellanayaan is the presiding deity of the temple and the moolavar gives darshan in sleeping posture. The utsavar is called Sri Sowmya Narayana perumal and thayar in a seperate sannadhi is Thirumagal nachiyar.

In the second tier, Upendra nathan gives darshan in Nindra kolam with periya piratti and bhoomi piratti. There is a beautiful painting of Indra loka in the background.

The presiding deity of the third tier is Sri Paravasudevan with Bhoo devi thayar.

Lord Narasimha also gives darshan in the temple in three forms - as Ugra Narasimhar, Yoga Narasimhar and Lakshmi Narasimhar.

Since Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva came together here as a koshti meaning group in tamil to decide about Narasimha avataram of Lord Vishnu, the place came to be known as Thirukoshtiyur -wherein thiru means three, kosthi means group and yur means place - the place where the three met as a group in tamil

Devotees can cover Thirukoshtiyur as well Thirumayyam divyadesams in half a day's trip.

How to reach

The temple is in Sivaganga district and around 10 kms from Tirupattur. The nearest railheads are Pudukottai, Madurai and Karaikudi. Lot of buses pass through Tirupattur and autos as well buses are available to the temple from there.

The nearest airport is Madurai -around 75 kms away.

Sannadhis

Perumal in three tiers

Ramanujar

Thirukoshtiyur Nambi

Shiva
Vinayagar
Senai Mudaliyandan

Alwars

Anjaneya

Nardhana Krishna with Rukmini and Sathyabhama

Thirumagal Thayar

Andal

Sudharsana/ Chakratalwar

Ramar

Yoga Narasimhar
Lakshmi Narasimhar and Ugra Narasimhar in the praharam

Specialty of the temple

The Ashtanga vimanam of the temple is a rare one and such kind of vimanam is present in very few temples like Madurai Koodal Azhagar temple, Uttiramerur temple and Vaikunda perumal temple in Kanchipuram. The specialty is that the vimanam never casts shadows

Devotees can have darshan of the Lord as in all the lokas - Nardhana Krishna in Bhooloka -base tier, Sowmyanarayana perumal in Devaloka - first tier, Upendra narayana in Indraloka -second tier and Paramapadha nathan in Vaikuntam - third tier.

The place is also known for Ramanuja's preaching of Ashtakshara mantram from the top of the temple vimanam. After his pancha samaskaram at Madhurantakam, his guru asked him to visit Thirukosthiyur and learn the Asthakshara mantram from Thirukoshtiyur nambi. Ramanuja went to him and knocked at his door..When asked who it is, Ramanuja said, I have come Ramanuja..Thirukoshtiyur Nambi turned him back and the same thing happened 17 times. The 18th time, he said "Adiyen dasan Ramanujar" meaning your disciple and only then Thirukoshtiyur nambi came out and said now that your arrogance has gone we can talk. Ramanuja requests him to teach the Ashtakshara mantram to which Nambi says he would teach on the condition that Ramanuja wouldnt tell it to anyone else. After learning the mantra "Om namo narayana" Ramanuja went to the upper tier of the temple vimanam and called out to the people in the village to come out and hear the mantra. Thirukoshtiyur nambi got angry and said that if he revealed the mantra to others, he would go to hell. To this, Ramanuja replied that if he reveals, all the people hearing and chanting it will go to Vaikuntam and only he will go to hell and he prefers this rather than he alone going to Vaikuntam. Thirukoshtiyur Nambi realised his mistake and called him Emberumanar meaning my Lord. There is seperate sannadhis for Ramanujar and Thirukoshtiyur nambi in the temple. There is a statue of Ramanujar in the Ashtanga Vimanam at the place from where he preached the Ashtakshara mantram to the people of Thirukosthiyur.

Temple timings

The temple is open in the mornings from 7 am to 12 noon and in the evenings from 5 pm to 8.30 pm.

The place Pillaiyarpatti got its name from the word Pillaiyar which means Ganesha in tamil. The temple is famous for the huge 6 ft idol of Karpaga Vinayagar. Vinayaga means incomparable leader and here the lord is said to satisfy all the wishes of the devotees like karpagam tree. The Lord is hence called Karpaga vinayaga. Karpaga Vinayaga here appears with just two hands and his truck turned towards the right. The temple is among the oldest rock cut temples of Tamilnadu. There are also lot more sannadhis in the temple complex like Durgai, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Marundeeswarar and so on.

How to reach

The temple is close to Karaikudi and Thirupattur on the Thirupattur-Karaikudi state highway. A small diversion on the highway leads one to the huge temple tank. It is also accessible from Madurai and Pudukottai.

By train, the nearest station is Karaikudi at a distance of 13 kms. Trains from Chennai to Rameshwaram stop at Karaikudi Junction.

Lord Anjaneya is the presiding god here and it is a small yet popular temple. The Lord is facing north direction and has a lotus flower in his hand. There is also a small bell in his tail as in temples where Anjaneya was installed by Sri Vyasa Raja. The temple is really ancient and more than 1000 years old.

Sri Raghavendra is said to have stayed here for some years and written verses about Anjaneya.

How to reach

Catch a suburban train to Thiruvallur / Arakonnam/Kadambattur / Thirutani from Chennai Central. Putlur station is the next after Sevvapet road and takes a little more than one hour to reach from Central. Take an auto from there to the temple which is at a short distance.

Buses going to Thiruvallur via Thiruninravur on MTH road stop at Kakkalur. Share autos on the same route are also available.

Temple timings

The temple is open from 6 am to 1 pm in the mornings and from 3 pm to 8 pm in the evenings.

There are four Vishnu temples in the locality- Dharba Sayana Ramar temple, Kothanda Ramar temple and Lakshmi Narasimhar temple near each other at Pon vilantha Kalathur and Chaturbuja Ramar temple at Pon Padhar kudam.

Once Vedanta desikar couldnt get alms to feed Lord Hayagreeva at night while staying in this village. The next day morning the villagers complained to him that a white horse had destroyed their paddy fields in the night. When Desikar went there, the places through which the horse had run through had turned into gold. Hence the name Pon vilantha kalathur wherein pon refers to gold and vilantha means yield from cultivation in tamil.

Dharba Sayana Ramar temple -

The entrance to Dharba Sayana Ramar temple is through Kothanda Ramar temple. Apart from Thirupullani Sri Ramar can be seen in Dharba Sayana posture at this temple. Lakshman is seen behind the Lord while Anjaneya and Samudrarajan are seen standing in front to the left praying to the Lord.

The utsavar of this lord is believed to be from Dhanuskoti as per the inscription in lord's kreeta/ crown ( source:- wikipedia).

Kothanda Ramar temple -

The Lord appears in Pattabhiseka kolam with Sita devi sitting on the left lap unlike other temples where Sita devi appears on the right. Lakshmanan is to the right of the Lord. The temple is the oldest Vishnu temple in the vincity. Earlier only Ramar sannadhi was there. During the process of expanding the premises of the temple, Lord Venkata Varadhan emerged at the spot close to the Moolavar but facing South. So Lord Srinivasa in this unique posture with Abhaya hastam ( unlike the normal Varadha hastam) blessing devotees facing south while Ramar is facing east.

Acharyas and Alwars are close to Srinivasar and there is a seperate sannadhi for Alarmel mangai Thayar. There are also seperate sannadhis to Anjaneyar and Chakratalwar in the praharam.

Lakshmi Narasimhar temple

The moolavar of the temple is Vaikunta nathar while the utsavar is Lakshmi Narasimhar.

The utsavar idol is said to be brought from Thirukadal mallai divyadesam several hundred years back as it was feared that the idol would be washed away in floods. The thayar is known is Ahobila valli thayar.

Chaturbuja Ramar temple

The presiding diety of the temple is Chaturbuja Ramar with Ramar and Sitadevi in sitting posture while Lakshmanan is in standing posture. The other dieties in the sannadhi are Lakshmi Narayanan perumal, Alwars and Acharyas.

There are very few temples where Sri Ramar appears in Chaturbuja form and the most important among them is at Bhadrachalam. The Lord holds a chakra, sanku in 2 hands and the other two hands are in the posture of blessing the devotees. Anjaneyar moolavar gives darshan inside the sannadhi facing the Lord with folded hands.

How to reach

Take the road into Chengalpet from the GST road and move towards Thirukazhakundram. After the Court on the right, take the left to go towards Ottivakkam station. After crossing the railway line, cut to the right to reach Pon vilantha Kalathur.

One can reach Chengalpet by train or bus and local buses are there to PV Kalathur although the frequency is less. Alternatively passenger trains between Villupuram and Chengalpet stop at Ottivakkam station and three of the temples are at walking distance from the station.

Kondanda ramar temple, Dharba Sayana ramar temple and Lakshmi Narasimhar temple are close to each other. Chaturbuja Ramar temple is at Pon Padhar kudam which is about 4-5 kms from the rest of the temples.

If one is using public transport, it would be ideal to hire an auto or car from Chengalpet to and fro to all the temples.

Temple timings

Chaturbuja Ramar temple is open from 7.30 am to 8.30 am in the mornings and from 5-6 pm in the evenings. The same bhattar manages Kothanda Ramar temple and Dharba sayana ramar temple also.

Kothanda Ramar temple and Dharba sayana Ramar temples are open from 8 am to 10.30 am in the mornings and from 5 pm to 7.30 pm in the evenings.

Lakshmi Narasimhar temple is open in the mornings from 8 am to 11 am and in the evenings from 5 pm to 7.30 pm.

The temple is among the 108 divyadesams of Sri Vaishnavas and comes under Pandiya Naatu divyadesams. Nanguneri is the headquarters of the popular Vanamamalai mutt. The temple is among the eight Swayamvekhta kshetrams of Sri Vaishnavas. The utsava moorthy is known as Deivanayakan perumal.

The Lord gives darshan in a sitting posture with one leg folded and Prayoga chakra in his hand. There are in all 11 swayambu moorthies in the main sannadhi- a unique feature of this divyadesam. A bath in the temple tank -Chetruttamari theertham is said to relieve the devotees of all curses. The prakarams have beautiful pillars and the architecture is simply superb.

How to reach

The temple is about 33 kms from Thirunelveli. A small diversion from the Kanyakumari expressway leads to the temple.

The temple along with Thirukurungudi divyadesam can be covered in half a day's trip from Tirunelveli.

There are 11 swayambu moorthies in main sannadhi..Perumal with Sridevi and Bhoodevi thayar, Sooryan, Chandran, Bruhu rishi, Markandeya, Urvashi, Thilothama, Garuda and Vishwaksenar. Urvashi and Thilothama gained their place besides the Lord fanning him to keep his cool by undertaking penance here to be freed from rebirth.

When Lord Vishnu killed the asuras Madhu and Kaitapa, their impure blood fell on Mother Earth and she took penance here to be freed from impurities. The Lord then showered nectar over her and she was given a place below the Vaikunda vimanam as per her wish.

Nammalwar first surrendered to the Lord here and hence his vigraham is present on the Satari of the Lord thereby blessing all devotees.

Abhisekham is performed to the Lord daily with gingelly oil and the oil used for it is later stored in the Oil well inside the temple. It is a huge well and the oil is said to have medicinal properties to cure any disease. Devotees can offer oil for the abhisekham and can also purchase the abhishekam oil to carry back home. The oil is considered to be very sacred.

The utsava moorthy of Thayar was orginally said to be in Tirupathi. The Lord appeared in the dream of the Jeer and said that Varagunamangai thayar was the consort of the Lord in Nanguneri. Accordingly the Jeer brought thayar to the Nanguneri temple and she is worshipped here as the Lord's consort.

Temple timings

The temple is open in the mornings from 8 am to 12 pm and in the evenings from 5 pm to 9 pm.

Thirukurungudi divyadesam is a combination of five nambis- three of them Nindra nambi, Kidantha nambi and Amarnda nambi in the main temple, one each at Parkadal nambi temple and Malaimel nambi temple. The temple is also called Dakshina badri. The Lord is also called Vaishnava nambi as it is believed that the Lord obtained Vaishnava initiation from Ramanujar here. Since Gajendra and Lord Shiva had darshan of the Lord here, there is a seperate sannadhi for Lord Shiva besides the main sanctum. Poojas are performed in both the sannadhis at the same time.

How to reach

The main temple is around 45 kms from Tirunelveli and around 15 kms from Naanguneri divyadesam. Paarkadal nambi temple is just about 1/2 km from main temple. To reach Malaimel nambi one has to travel for about 45 minutes in the jeep available outside the main temple.

Author

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